The Enterprise Incident (episode)
Acting apparently restless and irrational, Captain Kirk inexplicably orders the Enterprise into Romulan space where the ship is quickly captured by the enemy and Kirk held captive aboard their flagship. Summary :"Enterprise medical log, stardate 5027.3. Dr. Leonard McCoy recording; I'm concerned about Captain Kirk. He shows indications of increasing tension and emotional stress. I can find no reason for the captain's behavior, except possibly that we've been on patrol too long without relief and diversion. He has resisted all of my attempts to run a psychological profile on him." Kirk has been behaving irrationally of late, as noted in McCoy's medical log. Kirk then inexplicably orders the ''Enterprise'' across the Romulan Neutral Zone, where it is quickly surrounded by the Romulans – who are now using Klingon vessels. Act One Kirk instructs Uhura to contact Starfleet Command and transmit all log entries. Subcommander Tal demands the surrender of the Enterprise. In an exchange of hostages, Kirk and Spock transport aboard the Romulan vessel, where they meet Tal's superior, a female Commander. Kirk is accused of invading Romulan space in an attempt to steal a cloaking device for study by the Federation. The Commander points out that there are no methods to coerce a Vulcan to speak, but threatens to torture Kirk until he confesses his crime. Spock, however, testifies that Kirk was not under Starfleet orders; he is mentally unstable and ordered the Enterprise across the Romulan Neutral Zone for his own glorification. A screaming Kirk is taken into custody. Act Two The Romulan Commander broadcasts a message to the Enterprise informing them of what has transpired. She orders the crew to follow her to Romulus. Scotty retorts that he takes no orders except those of Captain James T. Kirk, causing the slightest of smiles to flicker across Kirk's face. Thereafter the Romulan commander attempts to persuade Spock to side with his Romulan "cousins," take command of the Enterprise and accompany the commander back to Romulus. She wonders why an officer of his abilities was never given the opportunity to command. She says that Spock must have his own ship; but he points out that it is she that needs a ship. She admits that bringing the Enterprise to Romulus would be a great accomplishment. In the process, she attempts to woo him, which he finds moving to his Human – and emotional – side. Spock attempts to walk down the forbidden corridor, but respects the Commander's wish that only loyal Romulans walk down it. Meanwhile, Kirk is injured when he is transferred to a holding cell aboard the Romulan ship. McCoy beams aboard to examine him. McCoy reports to the Commander that he is mentally incapacitated, which seems to corroborate Spock's testimony. She proclaims Spock to be the commander of the Enterprise. This leads to an altercation between Spock and Kirk, in which Spock uses the Vulcan death grip. McCoy pronounces Kirk dead. Act Three Kirk is brought back aboard the Enterprise and is revived by McCoy; the "death grip" is revealed to be a simple nerve block. Another truth is learned: Kirk and Spock are working under Federation orders to steal the cloaking device. Kirk is then surgically altered to appear as a Romulan. Nurse Chapel and Mr. Scott are brought into the conspiracy. Meanwhile, the Romulan Commander brings Spock to dinner. He notes that the food is much better on board than it is on the Enterprise, being a powerful inducement. They drink a blue beverage, followed by an orange beverage. She continues her promise that a place can be found for Spock in the Romulan empire. She promises him that Romulan women, unlike Vulcan women, are not dedicated to pure logic and non-emotion. She demands a token of his love: he must lead some Romulans onboard the Enterprise and bring the ship to Romulus. He agrees, but asks that they wait an hour in her chamber before proceeding. She whispers her first name in his ear. Dressing in clothes from the Romulan prisoners, Kirk has transported aboard the Romulan battle cruiser. While the Romulan Commander is changing into something more comfortable, Spock contacts Kirk and Spock reveals the location of the cloaking device. Their transmission is detected on the Romulan bridge. While Spock and the Commander proceed in their love making, Kirk makes his way to the forbidden corridor. The source of the transmission is localized to the Commander's chamber; Spock is discovered. They proceed to the cloaking device. Kirk pulls the cloaking device from the control panel and returns to the Enterprise. Upon returning, Scott takes the device and installs it into the deflector shield. Back on board the Romulan ship, the Commander confronts Spock; she wonders who he is that he has done this. Spock replies: "First Officer of the Enterprise." Act Four :"Captain’s log, stardate 5027.4. Commander Scott has less than fifteen minutes to install the Romulan's cloaking device, and get it working. I hope Mr. Spock can buy us the time we need." Kirk returns to the bridge with Romulan physiology; however he appears, the crew is happy to see him. He quips that the reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated. The commander learns of Spock's complicity in the scheme and prepares to have him executed. He asks for twenty minutes to exercise the Romulan Right of Statement. He begins that he is guilty of the charge of sabotage – but he carried out his duty due to the fact that the Romulan cloaking device is dangerous to the Federation. Chekov locates Spock by using the sensors to find the Vulcan life signs and gets a transporter lock as Scotty finishes connecting the cloaking device. While making his final statement, Spock is beamed back aboard the Enterprise – with the Commander holding onto him. Brought to the bridge, the Commander orders Tal to destroy the Enterprise, leaving Kirk to prepare to fight in case Scott is unable to activate the cloaking device. Scott succeeds, however, and Enterprise escapes with the Romulan commander. While escorting her to her quarters on Deck 2, Spock tells the Commander that he regrets that she was unwittingly brought aboard the Enterprise. He confesses that his only interest was the cloaking device when he came on board her ship, but now he tells her that his interest wasn't all pretended. "Military secrets are the most fleeting of all," he says. "I hope you and I have exchanged something more permanent." The commander and Spock agree that what has passed between them will be their secret. Memorable Quotes "The ''Enterprise takes no orders, except those of Captain Kirk. And if you make any attempt to board or commandeer the Enterprise, it will be blown to bits along with as many of you as we can take with us."'' : - Scotty, posturing to the Romulans "All right, Doctor. It'd better be important..." (in sickbay) "All right, what's so important that you... Captain? ''Captain Kirk?" "''Yes?" "Oh, you look like the devil himself, but as long as you're alive; what's it all about?" "Are the Romulan hostages still aboard?" "They're in the brig, sir." "I'll need their Romulan uniforms." (chuckle) "Aye – it'll be a pleasure!" : - Scotty and Kirk, Scotty learning Kirk is still alive "What is your present form of execution?" : - Spock "That's a ''Klingon ship!" : - '''Scotty', astonished at a Klingon ship in Romulan space "It is unworthy of a Vulcan to resort to subterfuge." "You are being clever, Commander. That is unworthy of a Romulan." : - Romulan Commander and Spock "Commander, you'll forgive me if I put up a fight?" "Of course – it's expected." : - Romulan Commander and Kirk, aboard Enterprise "Then Mr. Spock ''isn't a traitor; you knew that all along and you didn't–''" "I ''didn't know until I beamed aboard the Romulan vessel; Jim and Spock were working under Federation orders." : - '''Chapel' and McCoy, reviving Kirk "It was your choice." "It was the only choice possible; you would not respect any other." "It will be our secret." : - Romulan Commander and Spock "Well, are you coming down or do you want to go through life looking like your first officer?" "Captain, please go. Somehow, they do not look as aesthetically appealing on Humans." : - McCoy and Spock, urging Kirk to have the pointed ears removed "I neglected to mention I'll expect you for dinner. We have much to discuss." "Indeed." "Allow me to – to rephrase. Will you join me for dinner?" "I am honored, Commander. Are the guards also invited?" : - Romulan Commander and Spock "Military secrets are the most fleeting of all. I hope that you and I exchanged something more permanent." : - Spock, to the Romulan Commander "Just don't put me inside a bulkhead." : - Kirk, to Scotty before beaming over to the Romulan ship Background Information Script and Story * This is the second and final appearance of Romulan characters in TOS. * D.C. Fontana's initial inspiration for this story and its title was the ''Pueblo'' Incident which involved the capture of an American patrol boat, the USS Pueblo (AGER-2), by North Korean forces during the Vietnam War. The incident occurred January 23, 1968, just two months before Fontana completed her first draft story outline. * Originally, Spock was supposed to kiss the Romulan Commander (the first draft script describes Spock as "raining kisses on every square inch above the shoulder"), but both Nimoy and Linville agreed they needed something different than normal "Human" love expressions, and suggested the hand contact instead. Nimoy, in fact, wrote a long letter of complaint to Gene Roddenberry about this issue. In Star Trek Lives, Dorothy Fontana tells how she attempted to warn Roddenberry about fan reactions if Spock were to behave out of character. She insisted that Nimoy was right, that the pair's interactions should suggest "an alien sexuality, but not Human passion". Even with Nimoy and Linville's restrained gestural contact, Fontana was flooded with letters from fans. Aware of the pon farr and believing it meant Vulcans had sex only once in seven years (Ted Sturgeon's original idea), they complained that the scene was out of character. Years later, Fontana wrote sex scenes into Vulcan's Glory, establishing that the pon farr is only a fertility cycle but that Vulcans can have sex anytime. * In Fontana's first draft script, dated , it is explicitly stated that the Romulans have an "improved" undetectable version of the cloaking device. In this version, both Kirk and McCoy are disguised as Romulans and steal the cloaking device. * Kirk's comment that the report of his death was exaggerated is an allusion to Mark Twain responding to an early obituary. Jean-Luc Picard makes a similar comment in and in . Effects * Although long thought otherwise, from the very first draft, the script had the Romulans using Klingon ships. The series had a lot of money invested in the Klingon model and needed to get its money's worth. The rumor among Star Trek fans for many years was that the Romulan Bird-of-Prey model was damaged, causing the producers to use the Klingon ship in its place. Although it is believed to be in a private collection, the actual whereabouts of the Bird-of-Prey model remains a mystery to this day. * The doors aboard the Romulan flagship make the same sound effect as the doors aboard the Enterprise. * This episode was originally aired before so when the audience first saw the Klingon ships, they were being used by Romulans. Props and Sets * The Romulans use Klingon disruptor pistols. * The Klingon bridge set is reused from "Elaan of Troyius." Romulans refer to their bridge as "Control Central." * The Romulan cloaking device prop consists of part of Nomad's head and a globe from . * The Matt Jefferies-designed Romulan symbol, composed of a yellow hexagon in the center with three colored spokes coming out of it, can be seen outside the Commander's quarters, above her door. This symbol was purposefully made to resemble the Klingon insignia, because in the visual effects shots of the ships you can somewhat discern the Klingon markings. This symbol never appears again in any Star Trek series or movie. * The Romulan console that holds the cloaking device had been used before in and The Return of the Archons and was used again in . Costumes * Unlike in , the Romulans depicted here don't wear black gloves. * The red commander's shirt was probably first worn by Giotto in "The Devil in the Dark" (even though his given rank was lieutenant commander). The gold lieutenant commander's shirt was probably Lang's from . Other Information * The Romulans have improved their cloaking system since "Balance of Terror" and . In the former, Spock refers to it as an "invisibility screen" that can mask a Bird-of-Prey's appearance, but not its motion. In "The Enterprise Incident," the cloaking device now renders a ship undetectable while moving, and not even the Romulans themselves can track a vessel so equipped. * The fact that James Doohan is missing a middle finger is apparent in the scene at the end when Kirk beams aboard the Enterprise with the cloaking device and hands it to Scotty. Production timeline * First draft story outline by D.C. Fontana, . * Revised story outline, . * Revised story outline, . * First draft script, * Final draft teleplay, . * Filmed in late June 1968. Video and DVD releases *Original US Betamax release: . * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 31, catalogue number VHR 2383, . * US VHS release: . * UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 3.2, . * Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 30, . * As part of the TOS Season 3 DVD collection. * As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Captain's Log DVD collection. Links and references Main cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as McCoy * James Doohan as Scott * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * George Takei as Sulu * Walter Koenig as Chekov * Majel Barrett as Chapel Guest stars * Joanne Linville as the Romulan Commander * Jack Donner as Tal * Richard Compton as the Romulan Technical Officer * Robert Gentile as a Romulan Technician * Mike Howden as a Romulan Guard * Gordon Coffey as a Romulan Soldier * Eddie Paskey as Leslie (uncredited) * Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli (uncredited) References centurion; cloaking device; cosmetic surgery; Klingon Empire; parsec; physiostimulator; Romulans; Romulan ale; Romulan battle cruiser; Romulan Neutral Zone; Romulan Right of Statement; Romulan Star Empire; Romulan-Klingon Alliance; Romulus; Starfleet Intelligence; subcommander; Vulcans; Vulcan death grip External links * |next= |lastair= |nextair= |lastair_remastered= |nextair_remastered= }} Enterprise Incident, The de:Die unsichtbare Falle es:The Enterprise Incident fr:The Enterprise Incident nl:The Enterprise Incident